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UVa-Wise Bluegrass Band in The Crooked Road Youth Music Series

Abingdon, VA -- The Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail presents a Youth Music Series concert on Thursday, May 8th, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Heartwood: Southwest Virginia’s Artisan Gateway in Abingdon, Virginia. The concert will feature the UVa-Wise Bluegrass Band from Wise County.

The UVa-Wise Bluegrass Band had humble beginnings. During the concluding performance by the East Tennessee State University Bluegrass Band as part of the UVa-Wise 50th anniversary celebration, some questioned why the college did not have a bluegrass band of its own. Richard Galyean, the college’s band director and instructor of music, decided that night that there would be a bluegrass band in the near future.

A few short years later, with only a few students, the band began. They played several concerts and enjoyed a receptive audience. The next year, UVa-Wise Guitar Instructor Chris Rose was brought in to oversee the ensemble, and the group grew by leaps and bounds. Today, the ensemble boasts a student who has recorded his own CDs and lists the bluegrass band as one of the reasons he chose to attend UVa-Wise. The band features Corbin Hayslett, an award-winning musician and songwriter.

This past year, the band opened for Nathan Stanley at the Jettie Baker Center in Clintwood, Virginia, and was thrilled to perform on the same stage as Dr. Ralph Stanley. They also performed at the 2013 Dock Boggs Festival and are proud to be playing the Music Of The World Festival in Luxembourg on June 5th, 2014.

The Crooked Road Music Series features youth music performers and showcases venues of the Crooked Road region. These events, along with open jams on the 1st, 3rd, (and 5th) Thursday of every month, are hosted at Heartwood. A complete schedule for the music series is available on The Crooked Road website at www.thecrookedroad.org and at www.heartwoodvirginia.org. The music series is sponsored by The Crooked Road, Heartwood, Virginia Commission for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Heartwood: Southwest Virginia’s Artisan Gateway is located off I-81 at Exit 14 in Abingdon, Virginia and features food, music, and craft of Southwest Virginia. Admission to the concert is free and donations will be accepted for The Crooked Road Traditional Music Education Program (TMEP).